Dreaming of a Freestanding Tub?

Americans with elaborate country-house fantasies have stopped merely thinking about freestanding bathtubs—and started buying them, in growing numbers. Here's how to take the plunge

By

David A. Keeps

Aug. 22, 2014 11:30 a.m. ET

FIVE YEARS AGO, Tamara Kaye-Honey had a $4,000 freestanding tub delivered to the un-renovated attic of her 1920s gabled Los Angeles Tudor. "I'd brave the rickety old plank stairs, perch in the empty tub and sketch floor plans," recalled the interior designer and mother of two. Now her newly finished master bath, with mountain views from the tub and furnishings befitting a soignée dressing room is her guilty-pleasure sanctuary. "I spend lots of time just sitting in a chair with a glass of wine reading, listening...